Cuban dissident lead Manuel de Jesús Díaz Breval, best known as "Pachi," died Sunday morning in Santiago de Cuba. He was 69.
Pachi, who had been suffering from emphysema and other ailments, was chairman of the Cuban Republican Party. A former political prisoner, Pachi was one of the island's most respected dissidents, especially in the eastern part of the country. He had remained active in the opposition, despite having gone blind.
However, only a few people were able to attend Pachi's funeral Monday afternoon, because State Security limited the release of information about his death and the services, according to a report posted at Payo Libre.
For more on Pachi, read this tribute (in Spanish), written by Dr. Eduardo Vidal Franco, who first met Pachi when they were political prisoners together at Boniato prison. Vidal, who now lives in Spain and is president of the Association of Cubans for Freedom, writes that Pachi lived a life "marked by rebellion and the struggle to restore liberty."
"You can rest assure, Pachi, that thousands of decent men feel the pain of your loss and accompany your family in their sadness," Vidal wrote.
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